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 Charles Island—Castle
Harbor, Bermuda
“East End
Snorkeling” Excursion out of St. George’s
Ship: Zenith
(Celebrity Cruises)
Sailing Date: June
29, 2002
Date of Snorkel:
July 3, 2002
Equipment
Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkels,
masks, fins and vests are provided on board, well rinsed in cleaning
solution.
Water Access: From
the Boat or from the Beach
This is the common
destination for snorkeling excursions out of St. George’s for passengers
off cruise ships. It is an extremely popular snorkeling site and this
should be no surprise—it is a PERFECT spot both for beginners as well as
for advanced snorkelers. For beginners, there is a gently sloping beach
along the sheltered side of Charles Island that is adjacent to where the
boat anchors, allowing shallow water with very little wave action in
which to learn to snorkel (and/or swim!). For advanced snorkelers, the
area between Charles Island and a small skerry to the east of it offers
deeper water (up to 15 to 20 feet) with lots of reef area and an
incredible variety of fish! The boat crew swim down and “provision” the
fish naturally by turning over rocks on the bottom so that the fish are
drawn to the supply of fresh algae. On our excursion day there was some
wave action in the area between Charles Island and the skerry, but not
enough to spoil the swim or the sites to behold underwater.
The reef area
between Charles Island and the skerry is very well developed with lots
of brightly colored corals. Purple fan corals predominate, but there is
lots of brain coral and other varieties as well. Fish were incredibly
prolific and included Stoplight Parrot Fish, Queen Parrot Fish and
Bermuda’s own monster Parrot Fish, the Gillenborg. We also saw lots of
Blue Angel Fish, Queen Angel Fish and Peg’s first Blue Parrot fish—a
really big one that swam off quickly after posing for a photograph!
Sergaent Majors, other Damsel Fish, Squirrel Fish and Cardinals were
abundant as well.
On the ride back to
the ship, the boat makes a small detour to show off Ross Perot’s
vacation home overlooking Castle Bay Harbor.
Snorkeling Grade:
A+
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